The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Memorable Family Reunion 2024

The idea of a multigenerational vacation or gathering your kin from across the country for an epic family reunion at cottages in Ontario sounds good. 

You’re imagining the family barbeques, the downtime playing lawn games by the lake, the time spent fishing and boating, the ooey gooey smores at your nightly bonfires, and the moments that inspire bonding like competitive pickleball tournaments and one-on-one basketball.

But the truth is, there’s a lot that goes into family reunion planning. At Bobs Lake Cottages & Escapes, we’ve hosted tons of unforgettable family reunions over the years. So we’ve compiled our best advice on how to organize a family reunion. And we hope that if you’re looking for family reunion cottage rentals in Ontario, you’ll put us at the top of your list.

When you’re coordinating travel plans for a large group, it can be challenging to find a time that works for everyone. You’ll need to consider your budget (high season is so much fun, but will come with a heftier price tag than low season), school holidays, and work schedules. 

First, pick a general time that you’d like to plan your family reunion (for example, August 2024). Then, we recommend using a platform like Doodle to coordinate dates with everyone, or choosing a few options that work for you and sharing them with the rest of the group.At the end of the day, the dates you choose might not work for everyone. Sometimes it’s not possible for everyone to have the same availability. Choose the dates that work best for the majority of your party, or those whose presence you prioritize.

Once you’ve picked your dates, it’s time to peruse family reunion locations in Ontario. Depending on your goals for the trip, you might want to pick a spot with built-in options for entertainment so you’re not forced to plan lots of activities for everyone. (That’s why we love family reunions at Bobs Lake!)

Once you have a location, you’ll want to look for large family reunion rentals – either one home large enough to accommodate everyone or several smaller cottages close together.

The space you need will depend on your party size and travel preferences. Some families are happy to have all the kids bunk together, while others want their own space and privacy.

At Bobs Lake, we have four modern cottages (all steps from one another and steps from the lake) that make the perfect large group cottage rentals for your family reunion. So it’s easy to accommodate up to 30 guests with tons of space and privacy. We also have a beautiful and unique island retreat (Badour Island), for the ultimate mix of glamping and cottaging. 

When you’re planning a vacation for a large group, it’s important to make sure everyone is fed. Your family reunion will go much more smoothly if you think about meal planning in advance.

With a large group, it’s hard to go out to eat. So having a fully equipped kitchen is a must. If you stay at Bobs Lake for your family reunion, you’ll have access to four fully-equipped kitchens. In fact, the Great House has a full, modern catering kitchen! We use it for weddings and events, and it makes meal planning for large-group family reunions a breeze. The catering kitchen also makes it easy for private chefs and caterers, should you choose to go that route. We’re happy to help make arrangements.

It’s one thing to be together – it’s another to plan what to do. Some of our favorite things to do for a family reunion here at Bobs Lake?

We also love planning unforgettable, personalized experiences for our guests. We’ll help you arrange winery, brewery, and distillery tours, pontoon boat cruises, art workshops, farm tours, and more. 

Whether you host your family reunion at Bobs Lake or not, we hope the ideas above will inspire an itinerary of fun for your entire family.

When you’re planning a multigenerational vacation, it’s important to consider safety and accessibility for all your guests, from the babies to the grandparents. 

Do you have small kids in your group? Select a place that has safety precautions in place (like gates and door locks), especially if you’re staying near water. Consider whether the place you’re staying has baby gear like cribs and high chairs, or if you’ll need to bring them. Also make sure there will be entertainment for them, like toys (or the playground at Bobs Lake).

If you have anyone in your group who needs an accessible bedroom or bathroom, that can be hard to come by, so be sure to include that in your search. (We have accessible accommodations at Bobs Lake.)

A successful family reunion requires effective communication and coordination among everyone in your group. First, decide how you’ll communicate with everyone. Creating a private Facebook group, WhatsApp chat, or email thread dedicated to the reunion makes it easy for everyone to share updates, exchange ideas, and address questions or concerns. It’ll also get everyone really excited leading up to your trip!

We also recommend shared calendars to help coordinate schedules and activities, and Google Docs to organize important documents like itineraries and accommodation details.

And you’ll want to be sure everyone’s on the same page as far as planning responsibilities so nothing is missed. You can assign specific tasks to different family members or groups, or designate a go-to person for different planning aspects. If you delegate some of the workload to others in the group, it’ll ensure you don’t get overwhelmed while planning.

Last pieces of advice? Schedule regular check-ins to make sure everyone is on the same page and is excited about your event, and be flexible. Unexpected circumstances can arise, and last-minute adjustments to the plan are almost always a given. So go with the flow, be ready to adapt, and remember that the point of your family reunion is for everyone to enjoy this time together. The smaller details don’t matter.

By following the advice in this guide, we hope you plan a truly memorable and meaningful experience for your family. As you consider the possibilities for your Ontario family reunion, we hope you’ll consider our beautiful lakeside setting to relax, reconnect, and rejoice in each other’s company. 

We’re here to support you every step of the way, from assisting with accommodations and activity planning to offering guidance on logistics and communication. We’re dedicated to ensuring that your family reunion exceeds expectations and leaves a lasting impression on everyone who attends. Reach out to start planning your family reunion at Bobs Lake. We’d love to host you!